"Bowel Obstruction"

In 2021 I began experiencing problems when I ate. I didn't have issues each time, but when I did, the pain and discomfort was palpable. I frequently had diarrhea or constipation, and it didn't make a difference what or when I ate. In November of 2021, my family doctor at the time sent me for some tests - a GI, an endoscopy and a colonoscopy. In January of 2022, I received a call from the doctor who performed the colonoscopy telling me that I had ulcerative colitis. I think that for a while, I attributed my symptoms and pain to colitis and just dealt with it.  My family physician had retired, and I was under the care of a new one.  From then on, the pain and problems got steadily worse and more frequent, often limiting what I could do. I missed many social functions and activities due to the pain. I began eating foods that I knew I could digest - apple sauce, jello etc. By the end of 2023 and the beginning of this year, I had lost weight and was vomiting after eating. I could eat regular meals for a couple of days and would then throw up everything I had eaten. I made many trips to the emergency at our local hospital where I saw a different doctor each time. I had chest Xrays, ECGs and blood work done, but never had an abdominal Xray. My family doctor sent me to a women's health specialist who examined me but told me that she was the wrong doctor for my concerns. Finally, on March 17 of this year, I was again in ER and was on intravenous for the night. The doctor ordered an abdominal Xray which showed that I had an obstruction. I was sent to Calgary for a CT scan and was admitted to hospital. I was in hospital for a week, on IV fluids in order to build me up before surgery. I had surgery and a well-differentiated neuro-endocrine tumor was removed. The care in the hospital was great - absolutely no complaints about it. After being discharged, I had to go back to emergency to have the staples removed. I was disappointed that I could not have them removed anywhere else, as it was difficult at that stage of recovery to have to wait in the ER. I tried the home care clinic and the public health unit at the hospital, as well as tried to get in to see my doctor, but none of them were able or allowed to remove the staples. In June, I had more tests and another CT scan done and then had a follow-up appointment with an endocrinologist. That was good and I was very confident that everything was handled well. I will go back for an MRI in October and will meet with the endocrinologist again. All in all, it took a long time to get a proper diagnosis, but once that was done, things moved along rapidly and I was very satisfied with the care I received. The surgeon was professional and compassionate, as were all the staff in the hospitals. My only complaint would be that it took so long to get the proper diagnosis. Maybe because I was diagnosed with colitis, both myself and the doctors attributed my symptoms to that and did not investigate further.